extras

{via imdb.com}

extras. for the purpose of this post, "extras" should be taken in the movie sense of the word. an extra in a movie does not play a pivotal role. movies focus on the main character[s], not on the extras. ie: braveheart [above] focuses on william wallace, not on all the other guys with spears and sticks.

the main character pushes the story forward. THAT is who we follow, THAT is whose cause we care about. THAT is who matters at the end.

in life YOU are not the main character. God is. plain and simple.

i don't mean to sound cruel, or to treat you like you didn't know that already. it's just that i needed a reminder, and i didn't want to mince my words.

don't get me wrong. i'm not saying that the extras don't play an important role. some of us may even be minor characters, but we're not the main character. none of us trumps God in that role. at the end of the day, it's not about us.

and that is what we've been fighting against since eden. we wanted to be like God. and God is in control. he is sovereign. he is omnipotent, and omniscient. and we want that. we have been fighting for power and control ever since.

i'm the extra in the film who takes everyone to go see the film in theaters because i want to show them "my" movie. and as i drone on and on about how great my half-a-second screen shot was everyone else is trying to watch the movie. they're trying to see what happens in the story.

and i can't shut up about me.

do the extras matter? YES, of course. what would a movie be like without the extras? crowded streets would turn into barren wastelands. planes and trains wouldn't function. the villain would have no one to pick on, and the hero would have no one to save.
you get my point.

extras add to the story, but they do not drive the story.

and it helps me to think about life that way. yes, i have unique gifts and skills and talents, and yes, i'm absolutely called to use them. i DO have a role to play. but the story isn't about me.

i need this reminder a lot. and this metaphor is one of the best i've heard. do you have any go-to metaphors you use as reminders?

i'd love to hear them!

xo,

katie